Man convicted of mail theft handed four-year sentence

A San Francisco man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison for a mail and identity theft scheme that prosecutors said targeted more than 1,000 residents.

Bradley Williams, 31, was arrested in February by U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents during a surveillance operation.

Williams was seen taking mail from residential mailboxes in the Hayes Valley neighborhood, not far from his home on Fell Street in the Panhandle area near Golden Gate Park. He was arrested leaving a Walgreens in the area.

Prosecutors said Williams and two accomplices conspired to steal mail and cash checks found in the stolen mail. Authorities later found 1,874 pieces of stolen mail belonging to 1,111 people in his home.

Williams pleaded guilty in San Francisco Superior Court on Sept. 2 to four felony counts, including identity theft and possession of stolen property.

Under the terms of the plea deal, he was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison.

The two accomplices, 36-year-old Jessica Vota and 34-year-old Lyn Normanlee Younger, pleaded guilty to forgery charges relating to cashing and attempting to cash altered checks. They were each sentenced to one year in county jail.

According to prosecutor Michael Sullivan, Williams stole mail mainly from residents within a half-mile of his home. His accomplices cashed or tried to cash checks ranging from $200 to $2,000. All the victims were subsequently notified by postal inspectors of the thefts.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Williams’ attorney David Wise objected to having a TV camera from one media outlet photograph his client in the courtroom, citing “concern for his privacy.”

Wise claimed he had not been given proper notice of the filming. The media outlet relented after the judge indicated the sentencing hearing might have to be postponed.